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Proton extends its lead in the S-WRC at Monte Carlo

January 21, 2012 at 8:11 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

P-G Andersson has stretched Proton’s lead in the Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC) category in Monte Carlo. Combing the icy roads through snow, rain and fog on the third day of the rally, Andersson’s Satria Neo S2000 held on to 9th overall and extended his overnight lead from 23 seconds to 1 minute 40 seconds over the second-placed S-WRC car, Kevin Abbring’s Skoda Fabia S2000.

Abbring dropped two places to 12th overall, while Irishman Craig Breen remains third – and 15th overall – in the S-WRC class, a further five minutes behind in his Ford Fiesta S2000. Bryan Bouffier, in a Peugeot 207 S2000, continues to hold 4th place in the S-WRC class, but has moved up to 18th overall.

The third day saw three special stages being contested in the mountainous region of Southern France, which included tackling what is reputed to be one of the most difficult stages of the rally, the 24.13km Cimetiere de Vassieux – Col de Gaudissart route.

Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb continued to dominate Monte Carlo, leading Dani Sordo’s MINI by more than two minutes. Sordo, in the meantime, has taken advantage of Petter Solberg’s misfortunes to build a gap of more than a minute – the third-placed Norwegian damaged the wheel of his Ford Fiesta and subsequently suffered a puncture.

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Proton leads S-WRC category in Monte Carlo, 9th overall

January 20, 2012 at 5:30 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

Proton is currently in the lead in the 2012 FIA Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC) category on the second day of the Monte Carlo Rally, with P-G Andersson running in ninth spot overall.

Only 59 cars of the 89-strong entries remain at the end of the second day of the event, which has already claimed some 30 retirements. Among them was the S-WRC front runner, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, who was running sixth overall and leading the class in his Skoda Fabia S2000 when his car was involved in a high-speed crash five kilometres from the finish, ending his race.

Ogier’s retirement saw Andersson inherit the lead in the S-WRC class, with Germany’s Kevin Abbring in the Skoda Fabia S2000 in second place and 10th overall, some 23 seconds behind. In third place – and 15th overall -is the Ford Fiesta S2000 of Craig Breen, while fourth and 20th overall is Bryan Bouffier in the Peugeot 207 S2000.

“The Monte Carlo Rally is all about pacing yourself to the finish. There is a very fine line between driving at your limit and being careful enough not to be caught out by the tricky and changing conditions of the terrain. We’ve had a good run so far, and with two more days of rallying remaining we are going to be extra cautious, as the changing conditions on the special stages make it extremely difficult and tricky,” Andersson said.

“Our goal here is to get the Satria Neo S2000 to a strong overall finish and, if all goes well, a podium finish in the S-WRC category on our debut,” he added.

Current world champion Sebastien Loeb extended his overall lead in Monte Carlo, claiming victory in five of the day’s six special stages. The Frenchman overcame the icy conditions to currently hold a one minute 37 second lead ahead of Spaniard Dani Sordo in the Mini, while Ford’s Petter Solberg is in third, a further three seconds adrift.

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Perodua sold 180k cars in 2011, takes 30% market share

January 20, 2012 at 3:02 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Perodua

Perodua had a media briefing in KL this morning, revealing its 2011 performance and targets for this year. In a difficult year for the auto industry, the brand once again became the top selling marque in Malaysia, shifting about 180,000 vehicles in 2011. Retaining this title means that Perodua has been top of the tree for six consecutive years now.

The 180k figure is slightly down from the record breaking 188,600 vehicles sold in 2010, but then the total industry volume (TIV) also fell from from 605,156 to just below 600k units. Perodua’s market share also saw a slight decline from 2010′s 31.2% to 30%.

Exports grew from 4,000 units in 2010 to 8,000 units last year. Perodua revealed that Sri Lanka is its top export market now, taking over from UK. Bosses say that once overall cost is further lowered, exports will be ramped up, with a target of 20,000 units by 2015, or about 10% of total output. For 2012, they plan to export 10,000 cars.

Of the 180k local total, Perodua sold 81,904 units of the Myvi, which retains its title as Malaysia’s best selling car, 60,675 units of the smaller Viva, and 37,402 units of the Alza, which is the biggest car it sells.


Click to enlarge chart

2011 saw the introduction of the new Myvi in June, before Perodua wheeled out the “Lagi Power” 1.5-litre Myvi SE and Extreme in September. The Myvi is also exported CBU to Indonesia as a Daihatsu Sirion, launched at IIMS in July.

It wasn’t an easy year to launch such a big model, with the launch coming so soon after the triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear) that hit Japan, but the company pulled through (Perodua MD Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh singled out partner Daihatsu for their efforts) and reclaimed lost ground with the popular new Myvi.

Among other obstacles they faced were the amended hire purchase act that came into effect mid 2011, the weak global economy, a strengthening Japanese yen and the recent Thai floods, although effects from the latter was minor compared to the Japanese disaster.

Looking ahead, Perodua sees 2012 as cautiously positive. Datuk Aminar revealed the target of a 4% sales increase to 188,000 units on the back of network growth and “aggressive promotions” throughout the year. Besides new competitors, Perodua sees inflationary pressures, slower growth and Bank Negara’s credit tightening measures (Malaysia’s household debt levels are very high) as challenges.

At the event, Perodua also announced a new flagship 3S Centre to be located in Section 19, Petaling Jaya. This RM30 to 40 million facility will be the model for future sales and service centres in Malaysia and abroad. It will also be the central region’s hub in the company’s new “decentralization” approach. Construction will start in March or April and it’s expected to start operations in 2013.

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Proton P3-21A Tuah spotted on carrier along the Guthrie

January 19, 2012 at 1:08 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Preve

Reader Iwan spotted what looks to be a Proton P3-21A being transported along the Guthrie Corridor Expressway earlier today. Nothing much to reveal, since it’s under wraps, but the car cover is thin enough to offer an outline of the vehicle, which seems to be wearing less disguise and cladding save white masking points at the rear, door panels and headlamp area. In any case, expect the car to be spotted more in the coming future …

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Reports: DRB-Hicom to cut Proton’s costs, review Lotus

January 18, 2012 at 9:10 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Lotus, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Now that DRB-Hicom is in control of Proton, what’s in store for the national carmaker? A report by Business Times details the changes that will happen in terms of cost cutting and efficiency, trimming “excess fat” currently carried by Proton. The reporter quoted unnamed “sources close to the deal”.

For starters, no large scale staff retrenchment is expected, although some changes in the top management are predicted to happen. DRB-HICOM wants to turn Proton into a serious regional player within three years, before becoming a global player two years from that point. The conglomerate will also strengthen Proton’s vendor and dealer network, while improving staff skills by leveraging on its International College of Automotive (ICAM) in Pahang.

“There will be zero lay-off as the immediate focus is on the low-hanging fruits at Proton. The group will trim any excess fat in product planning, consultancy contracts and third-party service providers, among others,” their sources said.

An example is the storage of Proton cars at a third-party site in Sijangkang, Selangor. “The group does not think it is necessary to farm out this logistic service as Proton cars can be distributed to dealers and branches efficiently by using a good IT infrastructure. A lot of money can be saved from this,” they added.

When it comes to costs, Lotus is sure to crop up. Now that DRB-Hicom is in control, what is in store for Proton’s sports car subsidiary? The British brand is currently in a cost consuming revamp from niche specialist sports car maker to a Porsche challenging brand, led by CEO Dany Bahar, who is fresh from signing a four-year contract last month.

“If Lotus continues to ride on Proton, it will be cancerous, it will be like a parasite. Hence, it requires a review so that it can stand alone and be successful, perhaps like what Audi is to its parent Volkswagen AG,” BT’s sources said, adding that the review will focus on Lotus’ involvement in motorsports sponsorships, especially in F1.

If this report is accurate, there is sure to be plenty of boardroom battles in Proton, in the near future.

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DRB-Hicom picked to get Proton – what will happen next?

January 17, 2012 at 2:17 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Proton

The chart above shows the share price movement for Proton Holdings Berhad for the past 3 months up to yesterday. It settled down at RM5.18 yesterday, and previously hit a high of RM5.53 on the 13th January 2012. If only we all knew what was going to happen back in late November last year eh? It would have been a nice windfall just in time for the Chinese New Year this month.

Khazanah Nasional’s statement yesterday said DRB-Hicom had been identified as the appropriate party to acquire KNB’s stake in Proton as it’s proposal had demonstrated the company’s extensive involvement in the automotive sector, its network of strategic partnerships both local and international, and an effective platform to enhance Proton’s sustainability and meet its long-term growth needs. It’s RM5.50 per share offer price was also acceptable to Khazanah.

DRB-Hicom’s stake in Proton will rise from zero now to approximately 42.74% after the transaction is done – a total of RM1,291,040,812 in cash will change hands, with probably even more to be paid out later when DRB-Hicom makes a mandatory general offer for all remaining Proton shares after the acquisition is done.

This is not the first asset that DRB-Hicom owner Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary has acquired from Khazanah. He also paid RM623 million in cash for Khazanah’s stake in Pos Malaysia via DRB-Hicom, and the turnaround is already underway, with DRB-Hicom saying they have identified 17 new businesses that it could tap into via Pos Malaysia.

If you know Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s style, he will most likely install his own general to head Proton. When he took over Pos Malaysia, he made Datuk Khalid Abdol Rahman the group CEO. Datuk Khalid was previously DRB-Hicom group director of corporate planning. Who will be Proton’s new chief, or will DRB-Hicom choose to retain Datuk Seri Syed Zainal?

There are more questions of course. What are DRB-Hicom’s plans for Proton? These details are all in the proposal to Khazanah, not not available for public viewing. Will DRB-Hicom matchmake Proton and Volkswagen? If yes, how do they intend to do it? Who will they retain and who will go? What fresh blood will they bring in? An/d will DRB-Hicom continue to ask for special privileges from the government for Proton – if yes, for how long? And what will they do with Lotus?

The answers to these questions will be revealed in due course!

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Group N Proton Satria Neo rally car goes on sale in Japan

January 17, 2012 at 12:15 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton

Proton Motorsports and renowned Japanese automotive parts manufacturer Carrosser Co Ltd (CUSCO) announced at the Tokyo Auto Salon that the Satria Neo will officially go on sale in Japan for motorsports use. CUSCO is the authorised Proton reseller in Japan and is responsible for the importation and distribution of the Neo in Japan.

This is the fruit of Proton Motorsports and CUSCO’s joint-development to produce Group N 1600cc Proton Satria Neo rally cars, which was first put on display at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon.

The cars competed in last year’s Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) and made a clean sweep of the 2WD categories, winning the APRC 2WD Manufacturer’s title, APRC 2WD driver’s title (Karamjit Singh) and APRC Junior driver’s title (Akira Bamba). Meanwhile, in the Japan Rally, Shuhei Muta also drove the Satria Neo to win the JN3 Class title.

Developed for the Japanese domestic market, the rally cars are sold by CUSCO to those competing in the Junior Rally Championships in Japan and Asia Pacific. Proton and Carosser have also jointly-developed Group N components for rally use on the Neo. A well known name in aftermarket performance parts, CUSCO is the only independent firm in Japan to compete in all categories of the All-Japan Championships: track racing, rallying, dirt trials and gymkhana.

“Besides the collaboration on vehicles, we are also looking to expand our business, not only in Malaysia, but globally in terms of jointly-developing performance parts and accessories together with Carroser,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, head of Proton Motorsports.

“The main objective of this joint-development is to further deepen the prosperous relationship with Proton Motorsports by presenting the Japanese market with a sporty automobile that has proven its capability as a solid motorsports base machine. Moreover, Carrosser will strive to dedicatedly support various teams and end users utilising Proton machines in any given genre of motorsports, especially the APRC,” said Carrosser President Tsutomu Nagase.

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2012 Monte Carlo Rally marks Proton’s return to the WRC

January 17, 2012 at 10:20 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton

Today will see drivers Giandomenico Basso and Per Gunnar Andersson lead Proton’s return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) when the Malaysian manufacturer competes at the Monte Carlo Rally for the opening round of the 2012 FIA Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC).

Proton’s participation in the S-WRC comes 10 years after it first won the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship in 2002. Last year was a successful year for the Proton team, which was crowned champion in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), clean sweeping every title on offer.

This is Proton’s second visit to the historic rally after making its debut last year on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), which is run on a similar but shorter route. Yours truly was freezing himself with the team there last year, sharing the heartbreak of two retirements after so much promise. Better luck this time guys!

Anyway, the S-WRC is a companion series to the WRC and is driven on the same special stages. First introduced in 2010, it is limited to production-based cars homologated under the Super 2000 rules. The S-WRC also splits the Production World Rally Championship (P-WRC, previously open to both Super 2000 and Group N4 cars) into two separate competitions.

Proton will compete in five of the seven S-WRC rounds in 2012, and we hear that some privateers will also get behind the wheel of the Satria Neo S2000.

“We start the Monte Carlo Rally and the 2012 S-WRC season with what is a winning car, having clinched last year’s APRC title, and given the positive results we have achieved in testing throughout the winter break, we look forward to a strong and competitive season ahead,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, Head of Proton Motorsports.

The 2012 Monte Carlo Rally will be run over 18 special stages totaling 430 km of competitive distance in temperatures as low as five degrees. This year’s 80th edition marks the return of WRC to Monte Carlo after a three-year absence. Flag off is at the French city of Valence with two stages to be run twice before heading to the mountainous Ardeche, Haut Loire and Drôme regions, eventually finishing in glamorous Monaco.

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Six more winners in Proton’s Amazing Holidays contest

January 17, 2012 at 9:13 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Proton has announced six new winners in the second round of its Amazing Holidays competition. They receive a 3D2N holiday stay each, at either The Hard Rock Hotel in Penang, Tanjung Jara Resort in Terengganu or Casa del Rio in Malacca.

The winners are Proton car owners Rizalman ShahBandra from Putrajaya, Noor Fizan Ahmad from Ipoh, Zamri Abdul Malik from Petaling Jaya and Masmira Ibrahim from Temerloh. Winners under the non-Proton owner segment are Chee Sook Fun from Klang and Chong Bing Shan from Kuala Terengganu.

Amazing Holidays is part of the “Very Important Proton” VIP programme, aimed at acknowledging and rewarding customers and supporters.

“Our VIP programme has been truly instrumental in our ‘committed to be better’ initiative as it is an active expression of our pledge towards the improvement of our products and services. We have been very happy with the response received. The positive reactions we have witnessed have been truly encouraging to us as this initiative is instrumental in helping us build stronger relationships with Proton supporters,” said Director of Group Marketing, Branding and Motorsports, John D. Chacko.

Proton’s VIP programme was initiated in the middle of 2011 and lasted throughout the year. Also under the initiative is “My Proton Makeover”, which sees the R3 boys refurbish old Protons. They’ve so far laid their hands on Fadly Hisham Roplay’s 1992 Saga and Sashideran Radha’s 17-year old Wira. Next up is a 1996 Iswara Aeroback owned by Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri. Keep your eyes peeled for that one!

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DRB-Hicom announces proposal to acquire Khazanah’s Proton stake – RM5.50 per share

January 16, 2012 at 5:33 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

DRB-Hicom, the apparent winner of the tussle for Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s 42.74% stake in national carmaker Proton, has officially announced a proposal to acquire the stake to Bursa Malaysia, as any listed company is required to do.

They will pay the Government’s investment holding arm RM1,291,040,812, or RM5.50 per share in cash. DRB-Hicom also proposes to do conduct a mandatory general offer (MGO) to buy up the shares it doesn’t already own after the deal with Khazanah, as per listing rules.

Minority shareholders will be offered the same price – RM5.50 per share – as the conglomerate is offering Khazanah. Last Friday, before trading of Proton shares were suspended, the counter closed at RM5.18.

The deal is almost 100% done, but for two caveats: the approval of the shareholders of DRB-Hicom at an extraordinary general meeting to be convened AND the approval of or notification to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) on the change of shareholder of Proton.

In the proposal, DRB-Hicom also stated that it will not carry out any dealing with any Proton shares within two years from the transaction date, including the disposal of the assets of Proton, or any of its group companies. The company also says that during the period of one year from the completion date, it will not propose or vote in favour of any plans which may result in the dismissal, discharge, retrenchment or lay-off of the employees of Proton and/or its subsidiaries.

DRB-Hicom had issued an irrevocable standby letter of credit in the amount of RM38,731,224.35 representing 3% to the vendor, which is of course Khazanah. Mere formality now, before the official announcement.

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